Dean Sherry Glied delivers testimony at House Ways and Means health subcommittee hearing

On June 6, Sherry Glied, Dean and Professor of Public Service, provided expert testimony before the US House Ways and Means subcommittee on health about the challenges facing America's healthcare system, and whether Consumer-Directed Health Plans (CDHPs) are an effective solution. She spoke from her perspective as former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services under the Obama administration.

While CDHPs are receiving bipartisan support in Congress, Dean Glied offered an alternative perspective. Dean Glied's review of these plans and of the research literature suggests that the model has not lived up to early expectations.

"In principle, CDHPs should promote insurance coverage, offer financial protection, and control costs. In practice, however, CDHPs have fallen short of these goals," Dean Glied told the subcommittee chaired by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL).

She explained that CDHPs actually benefit higher-income people who don’t need the help, and the proposed legislation that would make it easier to offer and use CDHPs wouldn’t address healthcare affordability problems.

Dean Glied urged Congress to explore alternative solutions. "Congress should evaluate new strategies, for example, options that encourage the development of network‐based health plans, which can negotiate lower prices through the promise of membership in a network; competitive bidding to enhance price competition in selected sectors; and even increased regulation of prices in highly concentrated markets as alternatives to bring down the prices of healthcare and enhance affordability for all Americans."

Watch the full hearing below: